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It was shown that stem cells released from the bone marrow can migrate into injured
tissues, supporting the process of tissue repair. In this process, the number of circulating
stem cells was shown to be a critical factor. In a number of studies addressing various
health conditions, higher numbers of circulating stem cells have been associated with
greater health. An increase in the number of circulating stem cells was shown to improve
various health conditions.

Based on this information, it was claimed that the natural stem cell mobilizer
StemEnhance had the ability to support optimal health by increasing the number of
circulating stem cells. StemEnhance is an extract from the aquatic botanical
Aphanizomenon flos-aquae that was shown in a double-blind crossover study to increase
the number of circulating stem cells by 25-30%.

This study was aimed at confirming the effect of StemEnhance on tissue repair.





In brief, thirty 8-10 weeks old female mice were lethally irradiated before receiving a
bone marrow transplant with stem cells marked with green-fluorescent protein (GFP).
After transplantation, animals were randomly separated into two groups of 15 animals,
one group received placebo while the other received 300mg/kg/day. At day 16 and 30
Introduction
Methods

Mobilization of bone marrow stem cells with StemEnhance improves muscle regeneration in
cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury

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after transplantation, mice from each group were randomly selected for hematological
tests to see the effect of StemEnhance on hematopoiesis. The remaining mice in each
group (n=6) were injured by injection of 10m Cardiotoxin in 100 l PBS directly into
the anterior tibia muscles of right leg. Five weeks after the injury, the mice were
sacrificed and using open imaging (Olympus OV 100 Small Animal Imaging System),
the mice were evaluated for incorporation of GFP cells into tissues, including heart
muscle, liver, kidneys, intestinal wall, brain, skin and lung. The incorporation of GFP-
positive muscle fibers was quantified with Photoshop 7.0.





No significant difference was observed between the treated (StemEnhance) group and
untreated (PBS) group regarding average hemoglobin content as well as WBC, RBC
platelet and reticulocytes counts. Therefore StemEnhance did not appear to have an
effect on hematopoietic recovery.

In the injury part of the study, the extent of the recovery was
evaluated by measuring the area covered by fluorescence in
the recovering muscles. The group receiving StemEnhance
showed greater regeneration of the tibialis muscle (p<0.05),
though both PBS and StemEnhance groups showed very
significant recovery. The difference between the two groups
was also noted behaviorally by a greater strength in the leg
of the StemEnhance group while being handled, though this
was not quantified.

Less fluorescence was seen in the contralateral left tibialis
muscle of both groups, indicating that migration of bone
marrow stem cells was more significantly directed toward
the injury.
Control
StemEnhance
Contralateral leg
Results
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Some fluorescence was also seen in most of the main organs, such as the heart, brain,
kidney, liver and lung, though no difference was seen between the two groups.






StemEnhance did not seem to have an effect on hematopoietic recovery, as it did not
increase the number of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets soon after
irradiation. However, StemEnhance did enhance recovery from cardiotoxin-induced
muscle injury. Reliable measurements of fluorescence were not made during the healing
process, therefore it is not possible to discriminate whether StemEnhance accelerated the
repair process or enhanced the overall repair process. Studies have reported that bone
marrow stem cell mobilization accelerates the healing of skin burn and bone fracture. On
the other hand, it was reported that scar formation appears to take place when not enough
stem cells are available to support full repair process. So it is likely that the effect of
StemEnhance was an acceleration of the repair process, which in some conditions could
also lead to a greater overall repair by reducing scar formation.

While StemEnhance enhanced recovery, significant recovery was nonetheless seen in the
control group indicating stem cells derived from the bone marrow naturally contribute to
the repair of injuries. Furthermore, in both StemEnhance and control group, incorporation
of GFP-muscle cell was much less in the contralateral left tibialis muscle, indicating that
stem cells migrate predominantly towards sites of injury. Therefore, this study confirms
three key aspects of stem cell physiology: 1) stem cell migration in an injured tissue is a
natural process that takes place without any stimulation, 2) increasing the number of
circulating stem cells accelerates the repair process, and 3) stem cells primarily migrate to
sites of injuries.

In conclusion, this study confirmed the hypothesis that StemEnhance supports the natural
process of tissue repair by supporting the release of stem cells from the bone marrow.
Discussion